Postcard of the Day

[fflo]

 

Comments

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

That's a really nice photo, and not one in the usual canon of Mercury-Atlas photos. Not knowing your level of classic space knowledge, I'll mention that's the type that carried the first American into orbit. I looked up the booster number, 67 D (D because it was an Atlas D, the version used for all the mercury flights), and it's Flight Mercury-Atlas 2, launched Feb. 21, 1961, which didn't carry an astronaut and wasn't even intended to go into orbit. John Glen didn't fly until Mercury-Atlas 6, exactly a year later. So that postcard was presumably published in anticipation of his flight.

Before the internet, postcards like that were one of the best sources of color space photos.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I was hoping you'd tell me more about it. :) The back said that it was the type used for Mercury flights, and not much else. That is, it doesn't say much else, not it sez it wasn't used for much else!

Cool that you can figure out such specifics from the booster number.

If we do manage to hang out soon, let's talk about that Russian rocket that failed not too long ago, and its history. I saw something about it having been considered doggoned reliable, but I don't think I saw follow-up on what went wrong, if they've figured that out by now. (Surely they have.)

I'm also curious about how you feel about the SpaceX private sector factor, and, I dunno, stuff. There's lotsa space stuff getting in the news lately! Or else my news feeds have figured out that I click on stuff like that.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Mayhaps I should call and figure out some outhanging.